"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.

I have stood upon my soapbox at the Double Nickel and told the world (well anyone that stopped by) how I feel. I haven't held back.

I have shared my life...and in return many of you come back to visit, time and time again. For that I am humbled. At times I choke up at the email box...I thank you for your notes of encouragement. For those that see fit to help in other ways, your actions are graciously received. We have no words...

and then it came to me. We do have something that will become our focus in 2013. 2013 will be the year of gratitude on the farm. I pray that I can share more of my gratitude. We live in times where we see and hear so many bad things, that we overlook mentioning the good. I pray that I can really focus on that.

I am thankful for every single reader that stopped by and I wish to share how grateful I am to know others seemed interested in the journey we have been on. Believe it or not, it has been easier to know that others are interested.

I cannot close 2012 without doing two things...first and foremost- I wish to remind any and all that we give Bibles away. We received a new shipment and have 48 new Bibles awaiting a reader. Maybe you know someone that needs hope...maybe you can request a Bible that you can personally give to another. Please consider sharing this post on your blog...In times of hardship it offers peace. In times of sickness, one finds the eternal Healer, in times of heaviness and crises...this Book contains the way, the truth and the light. If you would like a Bible-ask and we will send it on to you.

And secondly, I must share a photo of my goof troop...they are no longer wee ones, but they will always be my babies and I love them ever so much...in addition from left to right the furry critters are Millie, Samson, Val, and Thena.

Now is NOT the time to push forth legislation on weapons. Keep in mind that a person that is intent on killing has already crossed the threshold on acting as a law abiding citizen. I welcome debate on gun control both for and against...in a few weeks.

Oh and to those on Facebook, blogs, chatrooms, forums, sending emails, gabbing around the water cooler, and at the grocery...Now is NOT the time to post images with a handgun that say "I'd rather go to my grave never needing my gun, than go there wishing I had it."

Now is not the time to share about the method Timothy McVeigh used to murder 168 Americans.
Now is not the time to discuss the Pearl River MS shooting that was stopped before it happened.

Oh and I forgot my favorite group of Americans...the Twitter Tweeters:

A parent's worst nightmare is unfolding in real time. Can we stop the politicizing of Sandy Hook for just a few weeks?

We can get our panties in a twist after the New Year? How can we be compassionate if the parents of the victims of Sandy Hook see our Facebook pages, and realize we are reduced to sharing images with bold statements...have WE LOST ALL SENSE OF DECENCY? The children in that school were screaming, weeping, fleeing for their lives, and sadly dying...and before most are laid to rest~we stand to politicize this.

ENOUGH.

Oh and Congress-before any member wishes to speak on this subject...I do ask you to refrain aside from offering compassion, support, and love. As you know your life is protected ever so dearly by the tax dollars of American citizens. Don't forget you are one of us...and that the value placed on securing your life is and should be what we, your fellow citizens deserve.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

to compose my thoughts before I could write about what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I needed to be able to cry. I needed time to be able to process the shock I felt. I needed to wrap my head around how these parents feel...as I am feeling the same way.

How dare this happen in America. How dare we label the shooter, even before the information is processed at the crime scene. How dare we tolerate the media in the faces of these poor families that are going through a grief that must feel as though their soul has been split in two. How dare we allow the media to enter a church and photograph a community trying to come to grips with the horror that their once idyllic community has gone through. How dare we expect the coroner to reveal the information about the autopsies of these wee ones.

I say ENOUGH! To the media I say get your weaselly, grimy fingers out of the way. Quit searching for the most shocking, titillating story and become the journalists you are supposed to be. Narrate the events, with details on the who, what, where, when, why, and how...but if you are missing one of these~WAIT, until you have the FACTS.

Oh and the fact of the matter is this~ NO PARENT EVER SHOULD BE shown on camera-whether in an interview, or in a candid shot, while dealing with this horror in real time as it is unfolding. Dignity and decorum should prevail.

Unlike 9-11, where the media censored our seeing truth...the situation in Sandy Hook is far different. We need not see the parents. We do need to story. We do need to know about the lock down of schools. We do need to know about whether the suspect is at large...

BUT the story needs to unfold in real time without the media in the way grasping for the million dollar shot.

Please know America~because someone places a microphone or camera in front of you~DOES NOT mean you have to speak.

I am grieving at the lack of respect our media has for these families. They just lost a child that most likely has not lost many baby teeth. They just lost a child that will not receive the presents that are most likely wrapped and tucked away in a closet in the house. May we have tremendous compassion in this time and NOT be in the faces of these families. They will speak~someday. They will share their children~someday. They will be able to function again~someday, but for now, we as a nation need to pull back and allow them to get through the next few weeks as it will be absolutely terrible for them...and WE need to pray for them. We need to be there for them and we need to remember that life is precious.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

although the first photo may make you think so. Two weeks ago we had Millie spayed. We had to keep her indoors for several days to ensure proper healing and such. It was a bit difficult to keep this giant pup inside as her head is over the table and she is almost to the top of the stove. We knew she was feeling better the third night as I went to the family room and found Millie sitting innocently enough.

Of course this is around 5 am. I had to take the photo quickly as she

was trying hard to maintain a proud seating stance.

For me the photo is a bit creepy/scary~

anyhow as I opened the curtains I was able to see a bit more of

why she was so proud.

I waited a bit for the day so I could capture how the family room looked.

Silly Millie!

The toy formerly known as Buster Bunny!

I need to be fair to Millie, she had an accomplice~Athena(Third's dog)...

This is the powerful speech FDR gave
to Congress on December 8, 1941. Please take a moment to read this. I
read this aloud to Bill and was a bit emotional as I went through it.
You can see how we have come to know this as The Date Which Will Live in Infamy
speech,but I challenge this title as it is so much more. After reading
this and reflecting upon the times we live in, I am profoundly moved by
this line: "As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense."

This
is the duty I expect-nay, demand of a Commander-in-Chief. If we do not
defend our nation every thing else we think is important is for naught.
So we as Americans should use this speech as a job description for a
future president as well as the sitting president, and demand that they
are willing to uphold the requirements of the Commander-in Chief.

December 8, 1941
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the
United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States
was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was
still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking
toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after
Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese
Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the
Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While
this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing
diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed
attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii
from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned
many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese
Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by
false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage
to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have
been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on
the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday
the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last
night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces
attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine
Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning the
Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore,
undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.
The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United
States have already formed their opinions and well understand the
implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No
matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion,
the American people in their righteous might will win through to
absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the
Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend
ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of
treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination
of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked
and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of
war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."
Copied from The University of Oklahoma College of Law.

I posted this post December 7, 2011. I challenge readers to take a moment and actually read FDR's words aloud... I pray we understand as a nation that sometimes bad happens and we must stand.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

when we made an attempt to understand Hanukkah. It was quite foreign to us and after an entire Christian walk thinking that the Jew and the Christian were segmented by a gulf that existed between the Old and New Testament we started seeing things differently.

Jesus himself mentions Hanukkah* in the New Testament in

John 10:22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication*, and it was winter.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Hanukkah is a feast that celebrates the re-dedication of the temple. As Christians, knowing our body is the temple, we see the celebration of Hanukkah as a re-dedication of our temple. We see this feast fulfilled by the coming of Christ as He is also known as the Light, and Hanukkah was called the festival of Lights by Flavius Josephus. We see a need to re-dedicate ourselves because we live in the times we do, where the world is moving forward at a pace that contradicts God and His Holy Word. We see the symbolism of the re-dedication of the temple by the Jews as a foreshadowing of things to come when our temple, our bodies, have been dedicated to our Lord and Saviour.

We are not Jewish. We are Christians. We will not adhere the the traditions totally, but try to keep it simple and taking each night to focus on another area we can re-dedicate our lives to our Saviour. We are not doing this claiming that all things Jewish relate to us, no, we are celebrating Hanukkah, as the bridge between the Jew and the Christian is Christ, and we are connected because of Him.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Sorry I have been away from the computer for a bit~here's a brief update:

Farm blurbs

~it is mating season for the sheep, so things are a bit woolly out and about.
~The coyotes are almost insane outside the perimeters of the farm. We hear the yips and howls and the frenzy nearly every night. We are thankful for the working dogs that patrol each night. Daytime treats have increased thanks to their diligence in protecting the farm.
~ I have been plotting and planning the spring gardens as well as the green house. I sometimes dream of my gardens so I can tell how much thought I have been applying to this!

For December

We are learning more about the feast of dedication and we will also share Biblical prophecy that was fulfilled by the birth of Christ.

On the blog~well I cannot upload any photos here, blogger tells me in the photo upload section that I have reached my limit of photo storage, but when I click to the link, I see that I have not. Since blogger is a free hosting site, I am not complaining and have a solution I will soon share.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

thankful for things that at the time seemed horrible, tragic, or destructive? I say no. So I will share my thankful list for things that at first, seemed like things I could never be thankful for.

I am thankful for the mechanic in Colorado for putting on the wrong belts for my car in 1988. I would need to have a mechanic fix my car and that led me to my Bill. Seems like it was a perfect error that cost me money that has rewarded me in ways that I cannot place a monetary value on.

I am thankful for my childhood. First-my dad was killed before I was born. Second-mom remarrying-seems like they both needed help with raising a child or children. This was not the best for several of us children but all of us gained a sister that united both families...and today 42 years after they married I can say that my step dad brought to the family another big sister. I do not refer to my oldest sister as a step sister. She is completely and totally my sister. Step parents not so great, step children struggled, but siblings united and for that-today I am blessed.

I am thankful for the time I had with Mom before she died. I think about those days often and cannot believe how much she shared in those moments. She knew she was dying and she made every moment count.

I am thankful for my in laws. They raised my husband and allowed the man he is today to develop. They instilled a strong work ethic in my Bill. The loving home he was raised in ensured that the home our children have been raised in existed. I am thankful that in spite of the hardships they endured that they always were strong parents and raised not only one amazing child but 7. They came to the United States with very little and I am thankful that they appreciated that in America anyone can become anything. I thank them for instilling in their children this...that anything is indeed possible.

I am thankful for my preemie. My daughter was born ten weeks early and we were only told that she would not survive. This tragic news changed me as a mother. I decided then in my tears to never have my sons have a memory of their sister as horrible, or that she was always sickly, and such. I decided that if my precious baby was going to die we were not going to live anticipating it. We were going to live as if each day was the best day, so my sons would have a memory to cherish of their sister. Now I look back and realize that this effort to ensure my sons memory of their sister, made us all a better family, as we look to each day as the very best, IN SPITE, of the situation we are enduring.

I am thankful for teenagers. I can look back to my mom and appreciate that she had 7 teens at one time, and I only had 4. I can look to how I was, and see where I am today, knowing where mine may be or have been, where they will end up. I am thankful ever so much that the time we all had as teens was given us, as we need to break free(so to speak), to establish our own identity and unit. I now have two teens although very soon I will be down to only one teen. I am ever so thankful that I am seeing the time pass and that my babies are becoming the adults that they are becoming.

I am thankful to have not known the Lord. Because I did not grow up in a family that attended church, nor read the Bible, I am able to see how life with and without Him has been. I see what my life was without Him and where I was headed, and I know now what my eternal life is because of Him. Funny many of the problems or things I used to perceive as hard or bad times have all worked out for good.

and with this I will share Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

If you would like a free Bible mailed to you please leave a comment here with your address(we will not publish this information), as life with Christ makes all the difference in how one views everything from the mundane to the grand.

Monday, November 19, 2012

This week I would like to take a moment and ask that we keep in prayer those on the east coast dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. I cannot imagine why things are still crazy with our government saying they are doing everything they can.

Perhaps like I have shared repeatedly, we must learn not to rely on the government first. Perhaps we should take note of a prepper plan in case of an emergency, natural disaster, or crisis.

We should also be mindful of our neighbors, especially those that are older, those that have several children, or those with special needs, as we may be the very reason they might survive a crisis such as Hurricane Sandy.

Please take time today and put together at least a list to strive for of prepping items. Include enough for at least one month. Anticipate not having electric so stuff a hand crank can-opener. Have calorie dense foods also, even if this means buying some MRE's(meals ready to eat).

~Have medicines, toiletries, and care for feminine hygiene and infants if you so need.

~Have a place to go to in case you must flee.

~Have a plan that each family member understands in case they must flee from high school, work etc.

I am touching briefly on this, BUT, three weeks after Hurricane Sandy and some Americans are STILL without electricity, and are relying on the kindness of strangers, and hoping the government steps up.

By the way in times of crises, many call out to God and ask for comfort and peace. If you would like to add a Bible to the list of items you have in your home to help you prepare, PLEASE click here...and we will send you one free of charge.

Friday, November 16, 2012

It's Friday once again! At dusk tonight begins the day God set aside for
rest. In Genesis 2:3 we read-And God blessed the seventh day, and
sanctified it: because that day he had rested from all his work which
God created and made.

This is the view from my front porch

In Mark 2:27 we read: And he said unto them, the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.

I find great comfort in the fact that God set apart a day and sanctified it...for all mankind.

In the world today, many use the 7th day as a day of fun, shopping,
hanging out, going to sports events or whatnot. The older I get the
more thankful I am that I live in a nation that has an established work
week that has set the 7th day off and then allows for the first day to
be off too. I wonder~with 2 days off , how much time do any of us set
aside time to rest in our Creator, let alone time for us to rest?

I think it is time to slow down a bit. Have the family spend time at
home. Stop running to and fro. Open your Bible and read it. The world
will not cease if you rest. You might actually decide to do this
weekly, as God set for man to do once you begin in earnest!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Besh Ba Gowah lived in the Globe area around 1225 to 1400. The Archaeological Park has the ruins and a museum with a movie and items found or collected from the site. We took the walking tour and here are some of the photos. Entrance to the Besh Ba Gowah was $5 a person, so it was an inexpensive, but informative side stop for our trip.

As you can see those that lived here did not create living and

storage structures of natives that were nomadic.

There were storage rooms, community rooms, and individual family quarters.

Much like a modern gated community.

The cooking pits were pretty neat

Most of the doorways were on the roof through thatched entrances with

a ladder they climbed, then pulled up when they were inside.

The doorways built like this one were added in the 20th century,

only the short doorways under two feet were original and

these were in storage rooms not living quarters.

Some of the area is reconstructed, but it is important to keep in mind

that in the southwest ruins survive a long time due to the arid climate.

I love seeing that perceptions most often do not fit reality.

The people that lived here were in no means unskilled. They lived a life

What is amazing about this is that it took us 7 hours to get home in a vehicle.

Although we have many modern conveniences previous cultures were

not without.

The foods that grow in this region are the same that grow on the farm.

I was inspired by what the Besh Ba Gowah people accomplished and

on the farm 600 plus years later, I plan on implementing things I learned from our visit here.

The final stop on the Besh Ba Gowah tour was a garden.

At the end of the garden tour there was

an interactive

project to allow visitors to see how easy

it was to grind corn

using a mortar and pestle to grind corn...here is the corn

And here it is ground.

The amount of edible plants in the southwest takes my breath away! I am thinking of the theme of 2013 and what it will be the year of on the farm...and I have some pretty good ideas thanks to Besh Ba Gowah.

I need to mention that so much was at this site that perhaps another post is upcoming.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

I am thankful to those that have served or are serving in our armed forces. You have my deepest gratitude.

Here on the farm we appreciate that in every generation we must have those that don the uniform.

I am what the military most likely refers to as the support network as I have been or am the wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, sister-in-law, aunt, and cousin of those that have worn or are proudly wearing the uniform of our armed services. I am ever so humble for their service and cannot put into words my thoughts.

About Me

I have been married to my best friend for nearly 29 years and we live on a small farm in the middle of the desert.
We have four children (now adults) three daughters-in-law, two grandsons and look forward to many more added to the fold.